Wolf Lake pageant kicks off busy weekend on Friday

By Matthew Johnson

Reporter

The 42nd Annual Wolf Lake Harvest Festival this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15-16, will include food, refreshments and a full schedule of fun festivities along with the much anticipated traditional events. Enjoy the pageant, yard games, the 5K walk/run, the parade, the mud run, raffle drawing and much, much more.

Raffle tickets are $1 apiece and are available in Wolf Lake and from pageant contestants. The raffle drawing is at 7 p.m. Saturday and those whose names are drawn do not need to be present to win. The grand prize is $500, second prize is $250, third prize is $100, fourth and fifth prizes are $50 apiece and sixth and seventh prizes are $25 apiece. The prize for whoever finds the charm in the Susi Jarvi Charm Hunt, sponsored by the Wolf Lake Wolf Pack Baseball Team, is $50. Clues for the hunt are on the Wolf Lake HarvestFestival Facebook page and posted at the Wolf Lake Co-op. Whoever finds the charm should contact Andrea Yliniemi at (218) 252-5618.

Friday

Festivities will be kicked off Friday night and include the Wolf Lake Miss, Jr. Miss and Little Miss Pageant starting at 6:30 p.m. in the recently updated Wolf Lake Community Hall (formerly the Wolf Lake Lions Hall). 

The Wolf Lake Royalty Silent Auction starts at 6 p.m. at the hall and runs until the pageant starts at 6:30 p.m. The auction will resume Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information on the pageant or auction contact Yliniemi (see number above).

Other Friday evening festivities include a bean bag toss game at the Wolf Lake Liquor Store starting at 5:30 p.m. and a triple meat raffle, also at the liquor store, at 7 p.m.

Saturday

Check out the vendor fair/farmers market Saturday next to the former Klondike Cafe in Wolf Lake. For more information contact Jan at (218) 457-1809.

The Wolf Lake Royalty Silent Auction also resumes at the hall from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., raising more funds for ongoing pageant expenses.

The yard games and bouncy house will be available starting at 9 a.m. on the grassy area south of Christ Lutheran Church in Wolf Lake.

The 5K walk/run also starts at 9 a.m. in front of the Wolf Lake Co-op. Registration is from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. and the cost is $15 with a t-shirt. The family rate for up to eight people is $75. Participants can pre-register on the Facebook page or email their name, age and shirt size to eheltunen@menahga.k12.mn.us.

Face painting will be available by “The Painted Turtle” on the grassy area south of Christ Lutheran Church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. An obstacle course will take place in that same area from 12 to 1 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the fastest in each age category. The age categories are 10-12, 13-15, 16-18 and 19 and over. 

Olson’s pedal tractor pull for ages 4-11, sponsored by the Wolf Lake Harvest Fest, is scheduled at 12 p.m. with registration at 11 a.m. in front of the liquor store.

Pick up applications for the coloring contest at the Wolf Lake Co-op and return them to the co-op by 12 p.m. Contestants are eligible to win only once in their respective age brackets.

The arm wrestling contest starts at 1 p.m. behind the band trailer with the winner taking home a trophy.

Parade entries/floats for the Harvest Fest Parade line up at 1 p.m. at the sledding hill north of town and the parade is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Contact Yliniemi for more information.

The mud run begins about a half hour after the parade at the mud pit just northeast of the town intersection. Stock and modified are the two competitive categories for the mud run. 

There is a $25 entry fee for each driver and prizes in each category are $250 for first place, $100 for second and $50 for third, plus the trophies for placing. One participant will also win $500 and a trophy for “Best in Show.” For more information on the mud run contact Rick Holmin at 218-415-0042 or visit the Facebook page and register online.

The bean bag toss tournament starts at 3 p.m. The entry fee for each two-person team is $20. To enter the tournament contact Randy Torma at 218-841-1184.

Round out the fun-filled weekend at the street dance from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. while enjoying live music from alternative rock band “The Winter Sloths.” 

Get a Wolf Lake Harvest Fest t-shirt at the Wolf Lake Co-op and enjoy tasty foods and refreshments from the VFW Auxiliary, Taco Tom’s Famous Tacos and the 4-H Ice Cream & Hot Dog Booth.